GK Update 9 August 2016

1. RBI : 3rd Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2016-17

i. Raghuram Rajan the governor of Reserve Bank of India has published the third bi-monthly monetary policy statement for the fiscal year 2016-17 and kept the rates unchanged.
ii. Mr. Rajan, whose term ends on September 4, maintained repurchase (repo) rate at 6.5 %, cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 4 %, Reverse Repo Rate - 6.00%, Marginal Standing Facility Rate (MSF)- 7.00%, Bank Rate- 7.00% , Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)- 21%.
iii. While the Growth forecast at 7.6% for the current fiscal and Inflation target remains 5% for January 2017.

2. International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples observed on 9th August

i. The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.
ii. The theme for 2016 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is 'Right to Education'.
iii. It was first pronounced by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1994, marking the day of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, in 1982.

3. Maharashtra govt launches 'Quit India 2' movement to mark its 75th anniversary

i. To mark the 75th anniversary of Quit India Movement, Maharashtra Government launched Quit India 2-from Swaraaj to Suraaj initiative.
ii. The initiative would emphasize on freedom from illiteracy, farmer suicide, wastage of water, addiction among youth and corruption.

4. Vodafone renews multi-million dollar IT deal with IBM

i. India’s second largest mobile operator Vodafone has renewed its multi-million dollar agreement for IT infrastructure with tech giant IBM for another five years.
ii. IBM will support Vodafone India’s IT environment transition into its hybrid cloud, allowing the telecom to leverage and integrate existing IT resources and data assets with private cloud environments.

5. Apple buys US machine learning startup Turi

i. Apple has confirmed that it has bought US machine learning startup Turi as Silicon Valley giants focus on a future rich with artificial intelligence.
ii. Turi specialises in enabling developers to imbue software applications with artificial intelligence, so the apps learn to think more the way people do.
iii. The move will help Apple to step up its artificial intelligence efforts to compete against rival services from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

6. Reliance General enters 'bancassurance' deal with co-operative bank

i. Non-life insurer Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd. has announced a bancassurance tie-up with Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank (SVCB).
ii. As per the deal, the Reliance General will distribute its insurance products to the customers of SVCB having a network of 194 branches.

7. HDFC board gives green signal to HDFC Life-Max merger

i. The HDFC board has approved the merger of Max Life and Max Financial Services with its insurance arm HDFC Standard Life Insurance.
ii. The total premium of the merged entity of HDFC Life-Max is expected to be Rs.26,000 crore.
iii. It will create the biggest public sector life insurer.

8. MSTC joins hands with Mahindra INTERTRADE

i. Mahindra Intertrade, a part of Mahindra Group has entered into a partnership with MSTC, a Government of India enterprise, to set-up country's first integrated auto recycling facility.
ii. The facility will have the first-of-its-kind Greenfield auto shredding and recycling capability to dispose of end of live vehicles.
iii. The joint venture (JV) agreement was officially signed by Sumit Issar, Managing Director, Mahindra Intertrade, and B. B. Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, MSTC under the aegis of the Minister of Steel and Mines, Chaudhary Birender Singh. vehicles.

9. Job portal Monster sold for USD 429 million

i. Amsterdam-based human resource consulting firm Randstad Holdings has announced that it would acquire job portal Monster Worldwide for USD 429 million in cash.
ii. Post acquisition, Monster will keep its brand name and will operate as a separate entity.
iii. Randstad Holdings expects to complete the deal in the fourth quarter of this financial year.

10. Irom Sharmila ends 16-year-long fast

i. Human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila (44) today has ended her 16-year-long fast against Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and was granted bail by an Imphal court on Rs.10,000 personal bond.
ii. However, She will be examined in court again on August 23.
iii. Irom had earlier announced that she will contest 2017 Manipur Assembly election.

11. Mr. K M Hanumantharayappa New Chairman of Central Silk Board assumes charge

i. K M Hanumantharayappa has assumed charge as new Chairman of Central Silk Board, Union Ministry of Textiles, for a period of three years.
ii. He is the 25th Chairman of the Central Silk Board.
iii. He is a sericulturist and a weaver and succeeds N S Bissegowda.

12. Pawan Munjal reappointed as the CMD & CEO of Hero MotoCorp 

i. Two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp has reappointed Pawan Munjal as its chairman, managing director, and chief executive for a period of five years. His current tenure comes to an end on September 30 this year.
ii. While the company also elevated its head of operations and supply chain Vikram Kasbekar as a director on the company's board.
iii. Apart from Mr. Munjal and Kasbekar, the company has also appointed Neerja Sharma as the Company Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer. 

13. Former Arunachal Pradesh CM Kalikho Pul has passed away

i. Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress rebel Kalikho Pul was found dead at his residence in Itanagar. He was 46 years old.
ii. He allegedly hanged himself. According to initial reports, he was suffering from depression and was extremely upset after his appointment was struck down by the Supreme Court.
iii. He was the Chief Minister from the period February to July 2016. 

14. Yoga guru TKV Desikachar passes away

i. Renowned Yoga Guru TKV Desikachar has passed away following a brief illness in Chennai. He was 78 years old.
ii. He was known for transforming the way yoga was practiced and turned it into both a wellness concept and a therapy.
iii. He also founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram where today about 1000 students visit every month to learn yoga.

15. Abhijeet Gupta retains Commonwealth Chess championship crown

i. Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has added another feather to his cap by retaining the Commonwealth Chess championship crown. As the title was also won earlier by him in 2015.
ii. This is the 20th Commonwealth Chess championship and was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
iii. Besides, International Master Tania Sachdev also finished with a gold medal. Although in this edition all the medals were won by the Indians players in the senior category. Grandmasters S L Narayanan and Deep Chakkravarthy got the silver and bronze medals respectively in the open section.